WHY For the innovative and relatively bargain-priced $59 four-course tasting menu ($49 for vegetarians) matched with stellar sommelier Peter Birmingham’s wine pairings.

WHAT Chefs Quinn and Karen Hatfield have settled beautifully into the dramatic dining room and sexy bar that once housed Citrus, and they’ve been quietly shaping this into one of L.A.’s finest restaurants. The food is plenty entertaining—creative yet dodging the follies of the molecular gastronomy fad and borrowing from Moroccan, Greek and Spanish kitchens. Their now-famous croque madame of yellowtail-filled brioche is still a favorite, but there’s also horseradish-dusted beef ribs paired with juicy hangar steak; grilled prawns over a creamy risotto spiked with preserved lemon; and Karen’s ever-imaginative desserts and pastries.

WHO Those who appreciate Hatfield’s attention to flavor over novelty.